How To Get Rid Of Bunions

This video describes How To Get Rid Of Bunions

I'm here today to talk to you about how to get rid of your bunions. So, bunions often form in the base of the big toe. And they're basically as a result of the base of the big toe pointing inwards towards the middle of the foot, and makes the big toe, the base of it, point upwards.

So, you have five foot bones, which connect your heel bones to your toe bones. And the base of your big toe is meant to connect to the first foot bone, and the second toe connects to the second bone, etc, etc. And so, sometimes, especially in hereditary causes, the first foot bone sticks out a little bit, and that makes the base of the toe bone of the big toe stick out as well, so you get a funny angle like that.

And what that does is that basically predisposes to that bit of the toe rubbing against your shoes. So if you wear tight fitting shoes or pointy shoes, that's going to rub and cause irritation and soreness. Also, if you wear high heels, that causes a lot of pressure on your fore foot, and that again causes irritation of that joint of the big toe.

So, generally speaking if you have a bunion and it's not bothering you too much, then that's fine, you can leave it well alone. Sometimes, also actually you can get bunions forming because of arthritis where you've got stiffness in the joint. And you can't actually move the big toe to the straight position, and therefore it naturally wants to go in a little bit.

And then that can cause rubbing. Conversely, you can have bunions causing arthritis as well, because of the inflammation, chronic inflammation of that area. So, they get very red, very sore, painful, and people just can't find them, they just look a bit unsightly.

So, if they are painful and sore, then what you can do, there are some very simple measures like using ice or cold compresses to reduce the pain and inflammation. You can also use anti-inflammatory medication: Diclofenac cream, ibuprofen cream, Movelat. Just apply locally on the skin, can help as well.

Or you can use ibuprofen tablets or Diclofenac tablets from your GP. The other thing you can use is aloe vera MSM gel made by Forever. It's got the aloe vera, which is naturally anti-inflammatory, and also MSM, which is also a natural anti-inflammatory.

So similar to ibuprofen but more natural. And you can use that quite safely. Worse case scenario, you do need to have surgery.

Then, your GP will refer you to a foot surgeon. What that involves is basically the bony extra growth of the bunion is shaved off, and they break the bone to re-align it straight again. It works quite well, there is about a 75 to 95% success rate.

But it doesn't guarantee that the bunion won't recur. And there are complications such as pain, nerve damage, and infection as well. So if you are prone to get bunions or symptoms of bunions, or if you have a genetic predisposition, then what I would recommend is to wear wide-based shoes so that your feet aren't being squished in, and to wear flat low-heel shoes.

So I hope this has been useful in helping you treat your bunions and reducing your symptoms. And thank you for listening.